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Local school test results 'hold our ground'

Thompson School District staff analyzes results and strategizes how to improve

By Saja Hindi

Reporter-Herald Staff Writer

Posted:
08/14/2014 10:00:59 PM MDT

Colorado's 2014 student performance testing results were released to the public Thursday at noon, and while Thompson School District has shown improvement in some areas, scores have not increased as much as they have in the past.

Margaret Crespo, chief academic officer, blames the results on the transition to the new Colorado academic standards, which Crespo said the Transitional Colorado Assessment Program testing does not cover. Testing next year, she said, will cover the new standards and include more subjects.

"What we're excited about, though, is that we have grade levels that have shown some increase, which means those things that we focused on were where we saw growth," she said.

Students in the district took TCAP tests for reading, math and writing.

Superintendent Stan Scheer said the data provide an opportunity for the district to see what works and what doesn't.

"I don't see the test scores as a horse race as much as I see them as strategic to help kids with their greatest needs," Scheer said.

Crespo said the district's testing scores are at or above state averages. She said the district is proud of the progress of many of the results of the reading scores: Monroe Elementary's tests scores increased this year in all fifth-grade tests, Namaqua Elementary's tests scores increased in all third- and fourth-grade tests, Ponderosa Elementary's test scores increased in fourth-grade tests, Turner Middle School's test scores increased in eighth-grade tests, Walt Clark Middle School's test scores increased in sixth-grade tests and Loveland High School's test scores increased in 10th-grade tests.

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"We implemented a literacy plan and will continue to focus on that. We're working on writing, and then we have a math implementation this year," Crespo said. "Although we saw some increase in math in some spots, a new curriculum will really help us with the new standards."

Scheer said the literacy program has helped test scores in third and fourth grades.

"We didn't knock the top of anything, but we held our ground and were able to move up some," which are signs of encouragement, he said.

In addition to this program and the new math program, the district has also split up the elementary schools into two divisions, so now two directors instead of can split the responsibility of providing support to 20 elementary schools. This will also provide the district with an opportunity, he said, to change the formative assessments.

Crespo admits there are areas to work on, especially for the schools that are on watch, which are released next week.

"There are some areas of growth, and we'll continue to work on those. Some of those areas of growth include ninth grade. We saw a dip in ninth grade district-wide," Crespo said.

The other side of the issue, Crespo said, is the test scores that did decrease, decreased significantly, including in reading at the middle school level, some up to 12 percentage points. She said writing will be an area of focus next year as well as the implementation of a new math curriculum.

"It seems the transition years are the ones that are most impacted," she said.

And while Crespo said she hesitates to call out individual schools, some schools have been impacted more than others.

But Crespo said the point she is trying to drive home is that this is just one test, and so many factors can affect how a student performs on a given day.

Scheer said the testing data give the district an opportunity to focus on cohorts of classes and how they're progressing that educators may not been able to do otherwise. But, Scheer said, test scores in the same grade levels studying the same curriculum vary for a number of reasons.

"I have trouble with the simple notion that if we painted them all with the same gray brush, they'd all be the same," he said.

If all schools had to teach their students in the same way, he said, then all students could perform at the same level on tests. But that's not the case, and it's because there are causes and individual needs of students at each school that differ. For example, he said, scores are not as high in schools that have more free and reduced lunch, some schools of which that percent has risen to 75. This number has increased across the district almost 40 percent from 10 years ago, he said.

So the challenge is "how do we go about customizing that particular school for this next year for a program that meets the needs of the kids in that school," Scheer said. That includes not only smaller class sizes to provide more support for students who need what he calls "intervention strategies" but also to find ways to support the teaching staff more as well. And he wants to bring in more parent involvement.

One support system that Scheer said has helped well in the past is that from the Boys and Girls Club, which provides tutoring and help for its participants, many of whom are in the district.

"We could use another program like that on the other side of town," Scheer said.

Another factor to take into consideration, according to Scheer, is that some schools seem to have scored low on "the surface level," but in reality, they have progressed from where they used to be, and growth takes time.

"This is an opportunity for us to basically do some analysis of strengths and weaknesses of what's happening out there, but not so much from the point of view of failure but needs and variance," Scheer said.

Staff will be presenting more of their findings at the school board meeting Aug. 20 at 800 S. Taft Ave.

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